Georgia special election sees nearly 8,000 new voter registrations and strong early voting

Laura Clawson

Daily Kos Staff

Thursday June 01, 2017 · 8:54 AM PDT

2017/06/01 · 08:54

ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 15: Laura J. works the phones asking people to vote for Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff as he runs for Georgia's 6th Congressional District in a special election to replace Tom Price, who is now the secretary of Health and Human Services on April 15, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. The 6th Congressional District hasn't been held by a Democrat since the 1970s. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) — Talk to people. Make calls. Get out the vote.

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It’s early in the early voting period in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, and remarkably, voting is slightly ahead of the 2016 general election for a special election for a House seat. That looks like a sign both of high enthusiasm and the immense amounts of money that have been poured into making voters aware of this race and turning them out to vote. Another sign? The nearly 8,000 new voters who registered or transferred their registrations from other parts of Georgia after a federal judge forced state officials to reopen voter registration until 30 days before the June 20 run-off election.

Could 7,942 new voters make a difference? The race could be just that close:

The district has more than 521,000 registered voters, so it's unclear whether another 7,942—or about 1.5 percent of that total—will make a difference. Ossoff fell 3,700 votes short of winning an outright majority in the primary on April 18. If the runoff remains a toss-up, these new voters could determine the winner.

At the current rate of early voting, a substantial number of votes will have been cast by the time of the two currently scheduled debates on June 6 and 8. Another six debates have been proposed but not agreed to by both candidates.

If you’re in Georgia’s 6th, vote now. If you’ve already voted, get someone else to vote. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Go out and canvass. Arm yourself with full early voting locations and hours. Do this thing now.

Can you chip in $3 to help Jon Ossoff keep getting out the vote?

Georgia special election sees nearly 8,000 new voter registrations and strong early voting

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